One Battle at a Time
by Ariel Princess of the Sea
Summary: After the battle of Yavin, Leia Organa tries to get Han Solo to join the rebellion.


Leia hadn't paid much attention to Han Solo when they first met. She had other things on her mind. Namely how to get her rescuers off the Death Star. Luke, Han, and Chewie hadn't had a very solid plan for saving her, but they'd been plucky. Han especially. The first few times he'd spoken to her, it was with such utter conceit and idiocracy that she couldn't help but reply with her sharp tongue and several eye rolls. She'd met people like him before. People who didn't care about anything but themselves. People who thought they knew best in all things. She'd battled many of them in her years in the Senate.

Before Yavin, she'd tried to get him to join the rebellion, but she couldn't be hurt by his quick and unsurprised refusal. It's what she'd expect from any other smuggler. They spent all their lives skirting around law and order, and the Rebellion was trying to bring it back to the galaxy. Her rebellion wasn't good for his business. She'd been ready to say goodbye and good riddance to Captain Han Solo.

That all changed during the battle of Yavin, when she was moments from dying. Moments from the Death Star destroying the rebel's home base on Yavin. Moments from hearing whether her new friend—and one of her rescuers—Luke Skywalker would be blasted from the sky. It was then that she heard Han's crackly voice over the comms, announcing that the _Falcon_ had turned around to help. He had come just in time, flipping the tide of the battle from a lost hope to them actually having a chance.

Han's change of heart was the linchpin that sent them to victory. Han's flying what was gave Luke the opportunity to shoot the photon torpedo at the exhaust port, exploding the entire battle station. It was also this act that caused Leia to take a second look at Han Solo. To wonder what other surprises he had up his sleeve.

The Rebel Alliance awarded Han and Luke the medal of bravery for their service in the battle. While Leia placed the necklaces around their necks, she could only wonder what Han Solo thought of all the pomp and circumstance. He played it off as if this was something that happened to him everyday, but Leia knew there were deeper anxieties underneath his smooth facade. There was something more to Han Solo than she'd originally thought.

A celebration followed the medal ceremony, where Leia spent only enough time to thank everyone before she was due back on duty. The Empire was still scrambling to pull itself together, but the Alliance needed to relocate their home base—and soon. High Command was already pulling information and transports together for the move. They couldn't risk another attack right now. They'd already lost too much in the past few days.

Her last stop before leaving the celebration was to speak to Han Solo again. He listened while she stated her case to him. While she explained their _need_ for such a good pilot and fighter as he. She rounded it up with a generous plea to enlist into the Rebellion. She'd used her best diplomatic skills on him, but his face gave nothing of what he was thinking away. It frustrated her that she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Han just replied, "listen sweetheart, there ain't nothing in this rebellion that'll keep me from flying off somewhere I can actually make a living."

This surprised Leia, and she didn't even know why. She knew he was a smuggler. A flyboy. He didn't stay in one place for long. Maybe she expected he'd had a change of heart after the battle. After she'd given him a medal for his service. After she'd given him a second chance. Something about it didn't sit well with her. There was something she was missing, or something she didn't know. It raised her hackles to not know what it was.

"The Empire just destroyed my planet! They tried to destroy another one, and they would've unless you hadn't been there. You could help us stop them from trying to destroy more planets, destroying more lives. Surely that's enough for even _you_ to join a cause."

"Me?" He stuck a thumb at his own chest, "I don't want anything to do with your little rebellion. I'm sorry about your planet, Princess, but I came back for one thing, and one thing only, and it's because I felt like I owed one to Luke. I'm not staying and I'm not joining your little gang of dreamers."

The thought crushed Leia. Here she'd been thinking of him as some sort of hero in the making, and he wanted none of it. When she'd seen him walk down the aisle at the medal ceremony, she'd thought him handsome. More than handsome. Sure, he looked a little rough around the edges, but he had a grin that could wipe her mind clean.

She shouldn't have forgotten that he'd demanded a reward payment for saving her life from the Death Star. The Rebellion had complied, but she couldn't help but think of all the good that money could've done them. They could've purchased food or other necessities. They could've bought ships or hired people to transport supplies. The thought gave her an idea, and she latched onto it before she could truly think it through.

"If it's money you're looking for, maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement."

Han leaned in closer, an eyebrow raising on his forehead. "I'm listening."

Leia tried to keep her features composed as she tested out the words in her mind first before speaking. "The Rebellion is going to need ships to transfer to our new base. From what I saw, the _Falcon_ has a good amount of cargo space."

Han looked as if he knew where she was going with this. "_The Falcon_ don't come cheap, Princess."

She remained diplomatic. "We'd pay you for your service, of course. It's hard to find good cargo ships with pilots we trust." She shrugged as if she couldn't care less how he responded to her proposition. "Beyond that, we always need pilots to do supply runs."

Han narrowed his eyes at her. "Taking this job won't mean I'm signing up for your Rebellion."

"I wouldn't dream of such a thing."

He looked her once over before replying. "Fine. I'll help with the move to a new base. Chewie likes you guys for some reason, so that's the only reason I'm willing to help. You've got us for _one_ _job_. After that, I make no promises for me or the _Falcon_."

The victory swept over Leia as she kept her expression neutral. Instead of replying, or thanking him—as she suspected he would've loved—Leia nodded in his direction before moving away with as much dignity as she could muster. As soon as she was out of Han's sight, she shifted her direction to the fresher on the side of the room.

The simple room with two hastily-made stalls was gratefully empty. Leia dropped her pretenses with a shuddering sigh. She walked over to the small mirror that hung above the sink to inspect herself. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were as wide as saucers as she took herself in.

_What did she just agree to?_

Alliance funds going to paying Han Solo? Why did she care so much about a single smuggler? He drove her crazy and made her life more difficult. He demanded money and then flew off before a pivotal battle. Sure, he came back, but he'd meant to leave. And now, she'd offered him a job with the Alliance. Why? So she could try to sway him to join up eventually? She had a feeling that would be a frightful battle in its own right. Han was very clear that he wasn't joining her rebellion. Twice now. So why had she expected anything more from Han? Was it because he had been among the people to break her out of the Death Star? Because he'd saved her life twice now? Luke had done the same, but he didn't fill her thoughts as Han did.

Maybe it was the challenge. It was the first thing she'd put her mind to since she'd escaped the Death Star. Since Alderaan…

Her chest tightened at the thought. Teeming with anger and grief and loss. She pulled down a metal barrier around her mind and shut out those thoughts before they could take over her senses. She could break down and lose herself later. When she was alone in her bunk. Not during a celebration. Not when she had work to do. Not after they won a huge victory against the Empire.

And really it was just one battle in an entire war for the galaxy. She couldn't imagine how they'd ever win such a fight, but she had to try. All she had left of her parents was their hope for a more peaceful world and the Rebellion. She'd keep their memory alive by doing what they couldn't. She'd fight for it. She'd fight with everything she had, and maybe, if she was lucky, they'd win. Just like if she was lucky, she'd get Han Solo to officially enlist. She'd win this war how all wars were fought —one battle at a time.


End file.
